Monday, April 27, 2015

The Donovan-Gentile Race for Congress Enters Its Final Week In Much the Same Way as it Started --- With Donovan's Handling of the Eric Garner Case in the News --- But this time there's a bit of a twist

"He Should Run Far Away as Possible’' --- Eric Garner's mother referring to DA Dan Donovan, now running as a GOP Congressional CandidateDemocratic Congressman Jeffries expresses hope that, if elected, a Congressman Donovan would join in making police chokeholds a federal offense -- Donovan and his campaign showed a lack of familiarity with the issueA feature story in the Advance about a union endorsement for each of the major party candidates in the last week of the campaign shows both sides looking like they are out of steam and limping toward the finish line

According to a report covering similar material in the NY Observer by Jillian Jorgensen, "The mother of Eric Garner won’t be supporting District Attorney Daniel Donovan—who convened the grand jury that failed to indict anyone in her son’s police custody death—in his run for Congress, she said today.... 'No, I haven’t had any conversations with him, and he doesn’t get my vote,' Ms. [Gwen] Carr said...." (See "Eric Garner’s Mother on Daniel Donovan: ‘He Should Run Far Away as Possible’' by Jillian Jorgensen, 4/27/15, NY Observer [http://observer.com/2015/04/eric-garners-mother-on-daniel-donovan-he-should-run-far-away-as-possible/]).

Ms. Carr's comments came while she stood beside Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from Central Brooklyn, to offer her support for legislation that would make police chokeholds illegal under the federal civil rights statute. The Observer article noted that sometimes those federal laws are used to prosecute police officers after localities fail to bring charges.

DONOVAN CAMPAIGN APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN CAUGHT FLAT-FOOTED ON CONGRESSMAN JEFFRIES' PROPOSAL

At an event earlier in the day, the Republican congressional candidate in the 11th C.D. would not take a position on Congressman Jeffries bill. Then, according to the coverage in the Observer, "... A spokeswoman for Mr. Donovan, Jessica Proud, said she had no comment on Ms. Carr’s comments, but said Mr. Donovan wanted to know more about Mr. Jeffries’ bill.... 'He would like to actually read the bill before taking a position on it, including to see how it defines a "chokehold." [Mr. Donovan] generally believes that policing policies are best left to states and communities, not the federal government,' Ms. Proud said in an e-mail.

NEITHER DONVAN NOR GENTILE CAMPAIGNS ARE GENERATING MUCH INTEREST

As a barometer of interest in the race which is in its last week, the Staten Island Advance reported on ywo union endorsements -- one for Donovan and one for Gentile. The report on the endorsement for Gentile by the Utility Workers of America, Local 1-2, made some sense. On the other hand, what was attributed to Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York and the Plumbers of New York City, Local UA 1, made no sense at all, and one wonders if they knew anything about Donovan at all ( See "Gentile, Donovan pick up endorsements in special election race" by Rachel Shapiro, SI Advance/ silive.com [http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/04/gentile_donovan_pick_up_endors.html]).

Ultimately, a garbled endorsement message probably falls most heavily on the campaign of the endorsed candidate; and the comments attributed to the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York and the Plumbers of New York City, Local UA 1, are probably no exception.

Both sides have talked about their turn-out operations; let's see what happens next.

28 comments:

Anonymous
said...

No one cares what you think Gale as you sputter on in your grammatically incorrect run-on sentences. You're like the town crier that we ignore on our way to the subway. But you've even less credibility.

Second, so far, two "people" have made comments; and that's a little more than 10%.

This post above is quite innocuous, it's almost insipid by my usually high standards....

So why would anybody post "No one cares..." if they really don't ?

Maybe they are one of those twisted souls that want this blog turned into a soap opera called "All about Hillary and Her Interminable Scandals."

If so, be patient, there will be more of the Hillary stuff, I'm sure. Hillary is the gift that keeps on giving, if you know what I mean.

However, we'll also continue to cover the Brooklyn GOP and other local politics with my occasionally "grammatically incorrect run-on sentences" even if some people don't care what I think about any of it.

Dan Donovan is the Staten Island candidate and that is the only reason why he is going to win the election. In a fraction of the time he's made almost as many gaffes as Recchia and he makes Vincent Gentile look like an international scholar. It's gonna be closer than people think because almost no one in Brooklyn Republican or Democrat is voting for Donovan because of the divisive campaign they ran against Brooklyn part of district talking about how Staten Island so special and different from Brooklyn. Nobody is buying it, the South Shore and North Shore much different too, is Donovan gonna start picking and choosing which neighborhoods he will represent as part of district?

FLASH: THE "PREDICTABLY PREDICTABLE ENDORSEMENT BY THE NY POST" EDITION

THE ONLY THING MISSING FROM THE TEXT OF THE NY POST EDITORIAL WAS THE WORD "YAWN" IN PARENTHESES

OH, BTW, THEY ENDORSED DONOVAN

I understand the NY Post's thinking completely, because it was expressed quite clearly --- "... Donovan’s agenda — a straightforward GOP platform of smaller government and lower taxes — better fits the district. *** Yet the city as a whole gains if Donovan wins. Republicans control both chambers of Congress; New York City needs at least one voice in the majority..." The rest of it was pure BS and had nothing to do with anything that mattered in the district or in the campaign (See "The Post endorses Dan Donovan for Congress" by NY Post Editorial Board, 4/28/15, NY Post/ Opinion/ Editorial [http://nypost.com/2015/04/28/the-post-endorses-dan-donovan-for-congress/]).

ANNOUNCED AND REPORTED: SOUTH BROOKLYN DEMS ENDORSE GREEN PARTY'S JAMES LANE OVER BROOKLYN DEMOCRATIC COUNCILMAN GENTILE

GREEN PARTY CANDIDATE JAMES LANE GLADLY ACCEPTED THE ENDORSEMENT

GENTILE CAMPAIGN DECLINES COMMENTING TO SI PAPER

According to Rachel Shapiro reporting in th SI Advance, " The Southern Brooklyn Democrats have endorsed Green Party candidate James Lane over Brooklyn Democratic Councilman Vincent Gentile in the race for Congress, citing Gentile's unwillingness to meet with them and Lane being a political outsider.... Posting a statement on Facebook, the club wrote: 'Southern Brooklyn Democrats is proud to endorse James Lane in the CD 11 race. Mr. Lane isn't a career politician; he's a member of our community who deeply cares about the interests of the people and representing us. It's long overdue that this district was represented by someone who is 'by the people, for the people,' and not some sleazy criminal or party hack. On Tuesday, May 5th, vote James Lane!'..." (See "James Lane gets Brooklyn Dems club endorsement over Vincent Gentile" by Rachel Shapiro, 4/28/15, SI Advance/ silive.com [http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/04/lane_gets_brooklyn_dems_club_e.html]).

According to the Advance coverage, the South Brooklyn Dems cover "... the neighborhoods of Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Gravesend, Homecrest, Coney Island, Sea Gate, Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach, Sheepshead Bay, and Gerritsen Beach — the first two neighborhoods are included in Gentile's council district. When asked why the club chose Lane over Gentile, "... club President Jennifer Thorpe-Moscon said, 'We don't blindly endorse whatever candidate the Democratic Party puts forth; we support the best candidate for the position regardless of party.'..." She added that "... the club campaigned for Gentile during his last re-election campaign to the City Council but for the congressional campaign, he did not respond to their requests to meet and didn't return a candidates' questionnaire.... James Lane, by contrast, eagerly joined us at a meeting and talked with us for over an hour about issues in our neighborhoods.... We believe that Mr. Lane is a candidate who cares deeply about his community, and is running to better that community, not to further his own political career."

The Advance also noted that the Souther Brooklyn Democratic Club has a brief history of backing third-party candidates, "... as it endorsed Green Party candidate for governor, Howie Hawkins, in 2014 instead of Gov. Andrew Cuomo."

In response to the news, Congressional Candidate Lane said this: "... 'I proudly accept their endorsement of my campaign and platform for independent investigation of police brutality, a Green New Deal of public jobs and services, taxing the 1 percent and Wall Street, and a $15 minimum wage for all workers.... As the old saying goes: when you do what you've always done, you get what you've always got. We face existential threats to our environment, economy and communities that demand breaking across our usual boundaries.'..." ( ibid.; see also "James Lane gets Brooklyn Dems club endorsement over Vincent Gentile" as posted by The Green Party of the United States, 4/28/15, GPUSA/ SI Adbance [http://www.gp.org/state-and-local-news/1354-james-lane-gets-brooklyn-dems-club-endorsement-over-vincent-gentile]).

Almost as an afterthought, the Shapiro article added this: "Lane is running against Gentile and Republican District Attorney Daniel Donovan in a May 5 special election for Congress"; as well as noting, "The Gentile campaign declined to comment."

Gale, you really need an assistant. First of all, they endorsed Lane over a week ago publicly. They made the announcement on April 21st. Brannan tried to keep it under wraps but looks like Shapiro made a story out of it. Good for her. And many local Democratic clubs endorsed Howie Hawkins over Cuomo so that is immaterial. Also, the Southern Dems have been leafleting all over Bay Ridge for Lane for weeks. Didn't you trip over them on the way to the pub?

ABC wanted to stage a debate between Gentile and Donovan. Donovan chickened out again and refused. Funny thing though he will "somehow" find the time for a thirty minute interview with ABC but I guess staying another thirty minutes to debate Gentile will interfere with his hiding I mean schedule.

WILD CLAIMS AND DEMANDS FOR APOLOGIES FILL THE ETHER AND THE INTERNET AS THE DONOVAN-GENTILE RACE HAS A FLAREUP THAT IS MORE HEAT THAN LIGHT OVER KKK ALLEGATIONS AGAINST ONE OF DONOVAN'S CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORTERS ARE PUSHED BY THE GENTILE CAMP

I heard more, but the Staten Island Advance coverage of this "story" will probably fill you in with more than you need or want to know about claims that a Donovan donor has KKK connections (See "Donovan wants Gentile apology for alleging KKK ties" by Rachel Shapiro, 4/28/15, SI Advance/ silive.com [http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/04/donovan_wants_gentile_apology.html]).

Well I did my research on Steven Scalise and Dan Donovan's relationship to him. Scalise is affiliated with a white supremist anti-Semitic hate group. The focus of this group is hatred toward Jews. How can any Jewish person in Brooklyn or on Staten Island vote for Dan Donovan in light of this affiliation? I think Dan Donovan needs to immediately issue a statement disavowing himself of such vile anti-Semitism. We do not need leaders in Congress representing the 11thCD who harbor such hatred.

THE ANONYMOUS COMMENT AT 4:36 AM ABOVE IS WAY ACROSS ANY LINE OF FACT OR LEGITIMATE INFERENCE --- AND IT DEMONSTRATES WHAT IS MOST VILE IN THE PARTISAN POLITICS AS IT IS PRACTICED BY MANY DEMOCRATS IN 21st CENTURY AMERICA

Steve Scalise is a U.S. Congressman; he is part of the GOP Congressional leadership; and he has a PAC that supports other Republican candidates running for congress. Dan Donovan received money from that PAC. That's it period. Brothers and sisters do I hear an Amen....

Anything else is a bizarre and malicious slander. [I leave the comment at 4:36 AM up, in the firm belief that it is a NET BENEFIT to Mr. Donovan and to his campaign for me to do so --- [btw, I neither support Mr. Donovan nor will I be voting for him next week; and most likely, I never will, for reasons that are completely my own.]

What "relationship" exists between Donovan and Congressman Scalise ?

What "affiliation" does Congressman Scalise have with a white supremacist hate group or did he ever have with any " white supremist [sic] anti-Semitic hate group..." ? I did my research on Steven Scalise, as well, and I know of none.

In the past, this bit of slime was raised by some Democrats in the Congress against Congressman Scalise and it was beaten back then. [If you care, you can look it up yourself.]

To raise it now against Dan Donovan shows once again that most Democrats nowadays will do or say anything with or without any basis in truth to win an election. Just look at Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and especially at Hillary Clinton --- all of them are serial liars and slime-slingers.

The Brooklyn Young Republican Club was proud to have over 35 people at our event on April 26th to help get out the vote for Dan Donovan for Congress. We were also proud to donate $500 from our political action committee to the Donovan campaign, and to have at least one volunteer at the campaign office in Brooklyn each and every day. I encourage everyone to please come out and support Dan Donovan. Please stop by the campaign office at 9712 3rd Avenue.The special election will be Tuesday May 5th. Glenn Nocera President Brooklyn Young Republican Club.

It's a good thing donovan doesn't have a long dick or he'd keep stepping on it every time somebody asked him about abortions, Pacific Partnerships, Garner, the current minimum wage, getting people help for the superstorm Sandy or whether to debate.

But since that all happened already, somehow Donovan has a special talent to step on a short one.

For some reason Team Donovan taking out paid advertisements on Drudge asking people to find out where they can vote EARLY! New York doesn't have early voting. As a Republican I thank the Democrats for not convincing a Staten Islander to run for this seat. You'd think Donovan TRYING to make it close.

The Daily News endorsement started with this: “Here’s the overriding reason why voters of Staten Island and a slice of Brooklyn should choose Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan for Congress in a special election Tuesday: New York City should have a Republican presence in the GOP-dominated House...” (See “Given the uninspiring choice between Vincent Gentile and Dan Donovan, Staten Island and Brooklyn voters should choose Donovan” by DN Editorial Board, 5/2/15, NY Daily News[http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/editorial-vote-donovan-article-1.2207285]). It went downhill fast after that for both the Democrat and Republican candidates.

Gale, you neglected to mention the salient point of this Daily News piece. The DN editorial board mocked Vinnie Gentile's inability to address "any" Mark Peters' investigations. Don't you think they were giving him an opening to bring to the fore District Attorney corruption in general and perhaps implicitly align it with D.A. Donovan. Vinnie Gentile had a clear chance to express his outrage and disgust for the findings set forth in in the DOI report on former DA Charles Hynes. He could have addressed the issues of cronyism, theft of funds, lack of accountability, abuse of process and the like that are all too frequent in prosecutors' offices. He could have during the interview demanded full transparency from DA Donovan on these matters. And if he wanted to personalize the issue, Vinnie Gemtile could have stated how utterly betrayed he himself felt by Hynes when he allowed Hynes to bring him aboard the Dyker Hgts. DA outreach center in August 2013, even hold a presses on it, all the time knowing that no community center would come to eventual fruition except for the paychecks doled out to various constituencies and community workers. This indeed was an opportunity missed for Gentile.

Also, Gale, who you putting your money on for the 43rd? Stay away from that Menachem Raitport guy. I saw him on Inside City Hall and he's one nutcake lunatic. I'm thinking Diana Richardson is the best bet.

About Me

I formerly have commented on various political blogs concerning Republican politics. Although the focus of my political commentary has been on the Brooklyn GOP and other aspects of politics in Brooklyn, I have also posted commentary about national matters.
If you wish to contact Galewyn Massey directly, please, Email to galewynmasban@gmail.com